Raya
Carmen Alonso, most commonly known as Raya, is a latecomer to The Holograms. She took over on drums after winning a drum duel in a talent search the Holograms organized when Shana temporarily left the band in order to pursue a career as a fashion designer. Personality Raya is a beautiful, modest and kind-hearted young woman who is shown to be warm and friendly to others. She can be a bit shy and not very assertive. Her insecurities make her project a naive personality, but she has also been shown to possess a volatile temper when provoked. When she found out Shana was returning to the band - thus making the newcomer redundant - she was in a position to betray Jem by revealing her true identity. However, she remained loyal and kept the secret, allowing her to continue performing with the band. Biography Carmen is a Latino-American whose parents came to the United States from Mexico. Her family owns and operates their own nursery of domestic and exotic plants. She has been playing drums since she was very young and is also good with other percussion instruments. Her father, Miguel, constantly encourages her to overcome her insecurities and gives her pep talks frequently, as he's firmly convinced about Raya's true potential. She also has three brothers: Aurelio, Enrique and Roberto. When Shana left The Holograms after being offered a job as a fashion designer for actress Liz Stratton, the remaining band members held a nationwide talent search to find her replacement.The Talent Search (Part 1) After auditioning many candidates, the competition eventually narrowed down to Raya and Craig Phillips (Stormer's brother). Unknown to the group, the day she came to audition, Raya had accidentally seen Jem changing back into Jerrica and also saw Synergy speaking with them. Eric Raymond attempted to use both Craig and Raya to uncover Jem's real identity, but when Craig refused to cooperate, Eric turned his attention to Raya, to whom he offered promises of fame and fortune. Despite being tempted by Eric's overtures, Raya was extremely reluctant to betray Jem's trust. Things came to a head when Jetta hit on the idea to have the Alonso's nursery vandalized in order to force Raya to come to Eric for help. After the final part of the Talent Search was over, in which Craig and Raya competed against each other in a drum duel, the thugs Jetta hired went to work on the nursery causing massive damage and destroying nearly all of the plants inside. Desperate to help her father, Raya returned to Eric and was about to tell him Jem's secret, when she noticed one of her father's orchids in Jetta's hair. Enraged, she physically assaulted Jetta and berated Eric and The Misfits for their ruthlessness, calling them "a pack of jackals". She then stormed out of Eric's office, declaring they would never learn Jem's secret from her. Unknown to Raya, Craig entered the office then and forced Eric to pay restitution to Miguel for the damage the gang caused. The next day, after Raya was declared the winner of the Talent Search, she intervened to keep Jem from changing back into Jerrica in front of a room full of photographers, explaining afterward that she had known the truth since the day she came to audition. When Raya accompanied the group back to Starlight Mansion, they discovered from Anthony Julian that Shana had quit her job, unable to put up with Liz Stratton's egotistical behavior. As she was warmly welcomed back, a dejected Raya felt there was no more place for her in the band, so she abandoned the Holograms and returned to her home. Shortly after, Miguel told Raya that he had received enough money to repair all the damage the gang had caused from an anonymous benefactor. Realizing something was wrong, he asked her why she wasn't with group; Raya explained that Shana had returned and that they no longer needed her. But then Jem, Kimber, Aja and Shana payed her a surprise visit where they settled she would remain as the main drummer for the band, while Shana would take on the bass guitar from then on. Gallery Trivia *Raya is the only member of The Holograms who uses a legitimate nickname ("Raya"), the rest of the band members use their own names as onstage names as well (Jem, Kimber, Shana and Aja). *Raya is the only member of The Holograms who comes from a traditional family and whose parents are still alive. *Raya is the only member of The Holograms that didn't grow up with the group in some way, shape or form. *While Raya has blue eyes, the rest of her family has brown eyes. *Raya is the only member of The Holograms that wasn't a foster kid before joining the band. *Raya is of Latino descent and her family originally came from Mexico. *Raya is a little bit insecure. *Raya discovered Jem's secret identity by accident, but she didn't know about Synergy's existence at that time. *Hasbro was unhappy about the way the Raya doll's face turned out, so very few dolls were produced of Raya. *Raya usually wears her original outfit she first appeared in, compared to the others who were shown in many other outfits. *Raya is the only member without a love interest. However, in a visit of the group to Mexico, she developed some fling with their guide. *Raya is the only member of the Holograms that wasn't featured in the live-action movie in some way, shape, or form. *While in the animated series, Raya has three brothers, there is no mention or sighting of biological sisters in the show like the Jem Bible originally mentions. References Category:Allies Category:Backup singers Category:Characters Category:Female characters Category:Musicians Category:Protagonists Category:The Holograms